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Overview

Students use excerpts from various agreements, including theGeneva conventions, the Hague conventions, United Nationsconventions, and the Charter of International Military Tribu-nal, to understand legal definitions and responsibilities relatedto war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1. Students participate in a Think/Pair/Share activity to developanswers to a set of critical questions about the rules of war.

• Ask students to individually answer each of the followingquestions on a sheet of paper:

– Are there rules for war?

– If there are rules for war, who makes them?

– Who ensures that the rules are followed?

– What happens if the rules are not followed?

• Then have each student share his or her answers with anotherstudent. When the pairs of students have decided on completeanswers for the questions, have the pairs record their answerson chart paper. When completed, display their charts for uselater in the lesson.

2. Students become familiar with wars around the world duringthe 20th century.

• Have students make a list of wars that took place during the20th century. They might include: Anglo Boer War, Arab Israeliconflict, Algerian Civil War, Cambodian War, Chechnyaconflict, Korean War, Vietnam War, India Pakistani War,Mexican War, Middle East Wars, as well as more currentarmed conflicts such as the wars in the Balkans, East Timor,the Philippines, Rwanda and Burundi and Ethiopia.

• You may want to extend the discussion by presenting articlesabout some of these conflicts from history textbooks, libraryreferences, the Internet, and current magazines andnewspapers.

Approximate Time

60 minutes

Materials

• Handout 1.1 (War Crimes andInternational Law)

War Crimes andCrimes against HumanityLesson One

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lesson oneWar C r im es and C r imes against Hum anit y

3. Students become familiar with international laws related towar crimes and crimes against humanity.

• Provide students with copies of Handout 1.1 (War Crimesand International Law) and invite them to compare theofficial rules with their answers to the questions asked inthe first activity.

• Have students revise their answers on the charts.

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One of the most important steps toward justice for victims of war has been the recognitionby nations around the world of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Over the past

century, nations have struggled to define rules of war to ensure protection of the basic humanrights of those caught in conflicts. Canada has played an important role in these developments,as a member of the international groups defining these laws, as a participant in internationalwar crime tribunals, and as one of the nations most active in supporting United Nations’peacekeeping missions around the world.

Following are excerpts from some conventions related to war and peace. For the completedocumentation of these conventions, visit the International Red Cross web site (www.icrc.org/IHL.nsf/FULL)

First International Rules of War

The first international rules of war were set down in the Geneva Conventions and the HagueConventions. They covered the treatment of the wounded, prisoners of war, and civilians inwartime.

1864 The Geneva Convention of 1864 established the International Red Crossand laid down the rules for treatment of the wounded in war.

1899 and 1907 The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 established as internationallaw many of the customary laws of war that existed before World War I.

October 18, 1907 Hague IV (Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land)

Until a more complete code of the laws of war has been issued, the HighContracting Parties deem it expedient to declare that, in cases not includedin the Regulations adopted by them, the inhabitants and the belligerentsremain under the protection and the rule of the principles of the law of nations,as they result from the usages established among civilized peoples, from thelaws of humanity, and the dictates of the public conscience.

Article 3: A belligerent party which violates the provisions of the saidRegulations shall, if the case demands, be liable to pay compensation. It shallbe responsible for all acts committed by persons forming part of its armedforces.

October 18, 1907 Annex to Hague IV

Article 4: Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, butnot of the individuals or corps who capture them. They must be humanely

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treated. All their personal belongings, except arms, horses, and military papers,remain their property.

Article 6. The State may utilize the labour of prisoners of war according totheir rank and aptitude, officers excepted. The tasks shall not be excessiveand shall have no connection with the operations of the war.

Work done for the State is paid for at the rates in force for work of a similarkind done by soldiers of the national army, or, if there are none in force, at arate according to the work executed.

The wages of the prisoners shall go towards improving their position, and thebalance shall be paid them on their release, after deducting the cost of theirmaintenance.

Article 21: The obligations of belligerents with regard to the sick and woundedare governed by the Geneva Convention1.

Article 23: In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, itis especially forbidden –

(a) To employ poison or poisoned weapons;

(b) To kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nationor army;

(c) To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down his arms, or havingno longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion;

(e) To employ arms, projectiles, or material calculated to cause unnecessarysuffering;

(g) To destroy or seize the enemy’s property, unless such destruction or seizurebe imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;

Article 25: The attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages,dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited.

Article 27: In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps must be taken tospare, as far as possible, buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, orcharitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sickand wounded are collected, provided they are not being used at the time formilitary purposes.

1 Red Cross Convention, August 22, 1864

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Article 46: Family honour and rights, the lives of persons, and private property,as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private propertycannot be confiscated.

Article 47: Pillage is formally forbidden.

Refinement to the Rules of War

After World War I, international laws were further refined as they applied to civilians, prisonersof war, and wounded and sick military personnel. An important one is the Geneva ConventionRelative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 1929. The Geneva Convention of 1929 was signedby Japan but not ratified because of Japanese military objections.

July 27, 1929 Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Article 2: Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, butnot of the individuals or formation which captured them. They shall at alltimes be humanely treated and protected, particularly against acts of violence,from insults and from public curiosity. Measures of reprisal against them areforbidden.

Article 82: The provisions of the present Convention shall be respected by theHigh Contracting Parties in all circumstances. In case, in time of war, one ofthe belligerents is not a party to the Convention, its provisions shall neverthelessremain in force as between the belligerents who are parties thereto.

The Need for Further Refinements

By the end of the Second World War, it was clear that the existing conventions had not beenenough either to control the aggression of ambitious nations, or to cover the terrible consequencesto civilian populations trapped by war. Two days after the bombing of Hiroshima, new ruleswere set in place defining wars against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The newlaws became the basis for prosecuting the German and Japanese governments — the mainaggressors in the war — at the International Military Tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo.

August 8, 1945 Charter of the International Military Tribunal

(a) Crimes against peace:

(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or awar in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;

(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment ofany of the acts mentioned under (i).

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(b) War crimes:

Violations of the laws or customs of war include, but are not limited to, murder,ill-treatment or deportation to slave-labour or for any other purpose of civilianpopulation of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners ofwar, of persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or privateproperty, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation notjustified by military necessity.

(c) Crimes against humanity:

Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhuman actsdone against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial orreligious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carriedon in execution of or in connexion with any crime against peace or any warcrime.

Formation of the United Nations

To further ensure that world peace would be preserved after World War II, the United Nationswas formed. The Charter of United Nations held all member nations to a commitment not toact aggressively against another member and to settle their disagreements by peaceful means.Canada was one of the founding members of the UN.

June 26, 1945 Charter of the United Nations

Article 2(3) All Members shall settle their international disputes by peacefulmeans in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice,are not endangered

Article 2(4) All Members shall refrain in their international relations fromthe threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or politicalindependence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with thePurposes of the United Nations.

Stronger Rules Established

As the world came to terms with the terrible consequences of the Second World War, the membersof the United Nations committed themselves to stronger rules that would protect the rights ofcivilians both in times of war and of peace. The horrors of the Holocaust led to the Conventionon the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This was followed by theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the Geneva Convention Relative to theProtection of Civilian Persons In Time Of War.

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December 9, 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime ofGenocide

Article 1: The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committedin time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law whichthey undertake to prevent and to punish.

Article 2: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the followingacts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bringabout its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Article 3: The following acts shall be punishable:

(a) Genocide;

(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;

(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;

(d) Attempt to commit genocide;

(e) Complicity in genocide.

August 12, 1949 Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons inTime of War

Article 27: Protected persons are entitled, in all circumstances, to respect fortheir persons, their honour, their family rights, their religious convictionsand practices, and their manners and customs. They shall at all times behumanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violenceor threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity.

Women shall be especially protected against any attack on their honour, inparticular against rape, enforced prostitution, or any form of indecent assault.

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Article 148: No High Contracting Party shall be allowed to absolve itself orany other High Contracting Party of any liability incurred by itself or byanother High Contracting Party in respect of breaches referred to in thepreceding Article.

Principles of International Law

In 1950 the International Law Commission of the United Nations adopted the Principles ofInternational Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and in the Judgmentof the Tribunal. These include the recognition (Principle VI) of the definitions established bythe Charter of the International Military Tribunal of crimes against peace, war crimes, andcrimes against humanity.

1950 Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of theNüremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal

Principle II: The fact that international law does not impose a penalty for anact which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve theperson who committed the act from responsibility under international law.

Principle III: The fact that a person who committed an act which constitutesa crime under international law acted as Head of State or responsibleGovernment official does not relieve him from responsibility underinternational law.

Principle IV: The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Governmentor of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under internationallaw, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him.

Principle VII: Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a warcrime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crimeunder international law.

Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations

The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitationsto War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity on 26 November 1968. This convention addressesthe world concern about the application of municipal law relating to the period of limitation(legal expiry date) for ordinary crime, since it prevents the prosecution and punishment ofpersons responsible for those crimes. This forms the legal basis for the claims of victims andsurvivors against the Japanese government for war crimes and crimes against humanitycommitted during the Asia-Pacific War. (Excerpts from the Convention are presented in Handout4.3: Legal Basis for Claims Against Japan).

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Enforcement of the Rules of War

In spite of efforts to regulate warfare and promote peace since the end of World War II, millionsof people have lost their lives to war, and millions have become victims of crimes against humanity.To halt such atrocities and for redress in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, ad hoc internationaltribunals for the prosecution of persons responsible for genocide and violations of internationalhumanitarian law were set up in 1993 and 1994.

On July 17, 1998, nations gathered in Rome and adopted the Rome Statute of the InternationalCriminal Court. This is an attempt by nations to enforce international laws of war and peace bysetting up a permanent international criminal court to bring individual perpetrators of themost serious crimes to justice. Of course, the elimination of war remains the best safeguardagainst human rights violations. The Preamble of the Rome Statue speaks of the hope of theworld for peace and its urge to stop any acts of inhumanity. It states:

Conscious that all peoples are united by common bonds, their cultures pieced together in a sharedheritage, and concerned that this delicate mosaic may be shattered at any time,

Mindful that during this century millions of children, women and men have been victims ofunimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity,

Recognizing that such grave crimes threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world,

Affirming that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole mustnot go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at thenational level and by enhancing international cooperation,

Determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute tothe prevention of such crimes,

Recalling that it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsiblefor international crimes,

Reaffirming the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and in particularthat all States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or politicalindependence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the UnitedNations, ….

Resolved to guarantee lasting respect for and the enforcement of international justice…